Gambling on blood: DBR detains director of Pin-Up online casino
14 February 2025 14:42
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) detained the director of a company operating in Ukraine under the Pin-Up online casino brand. The detainee is suspected of assisting the aggressor state. It was reported by
During the investigation, it was found that the actual owners of this commercial organization, which received a license to organize and conduct online casino gambling, are citizens of the Russian Federation.
Suspicion of aiding the aggressor state
The detainee has already been served a notice of suspicion of aiding the activities of the aggressor state. A motion to impose on him a custody as a measure of restraint is currently being prepared. Law enforcement officers are continuing the investigation, establishing the circle of other persons involved in illegal activities.
According to the SBI, the investigation documented the links between the online casino and sanctioned entities in Ukraine and representatives of the Russian Federation. The investigation also confirmed that the company’s financial flows were directed to fill the Russian budget and support the armed aggression against Ukraine.
How did the scheme work?
According to the investigators, in the course of complex procedural actions and technical examinations, it was established that the activities of the PIN-UP online casino were harming the combat capability of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
In addition, law enforcement officers found that the entities affiliated with the online casino were conducting business activities in the territory of the so-called “LPR”, in fact financing the budget of the occupation regime.
Another high-profile fact was that one of the persons who directly controlled the casino’s activities financed veterans of the so-called “special military operation” of the Russian Federation after the full-scale invasion.
Online casino continues to operate in Russia
As part of the pre-trial investigation, the SBI found that the PIN-UP online casino continues to operate in Russia using Russian web resources.
The investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officers are documenting the involvement of other persons in the scheme and preparing new suspicions.
What is known about Pin-Up’s activities in Ukraine
The casino has been operating in Ukraine since 2021 under the license of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. By the way, the Verkhovna Rada has adopted in the second reading the draft law on strengthening control in the gambling market No. 9256-d, which, among other things, provides for the liquidation of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries.
Law enforcers suspect Pin-Up of money laundering through cryptocurrencies and circumventing sanctions against Russia. The investigation established that from January 2022 to February 2024, Pin-Up transferred more than UAH 170 million to the Russian company Guruflow Team LTD for license fees. The total volume of suspicious transactions during this period exceeded UAH 714 billion.
In August, as part of an investigation into money laundering schemes “involving a number of business entities licensed to organize online gambling,” the court seized funds in casino accounts and transferred them to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
In October, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv canceled the seizure of UAH 2.6 billion of Pin-Up online casino. The National Asset Recovery Agency then turned to the State Bureau of Investigation for a new arrest.
As reported by
